
.1. 



Ci)PYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 




Edouard Panchard 



MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

How to Buy, Cook and Carve 
With a Potpourri of Recipes 



BY 

M. EDOUARD PANCHARD 

Managing Chef for L. M. Boomer, President and Managing Directot 

OF Hotel McAlpin, Waldorf-Astoria, Claridge, Cafe Savarin 

AND Fifth Avenue Restaurant, New York, and Bellevue- 

Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia. Honorary 

Lecturer, Columbia University 

AVith a Preface by 
A. LOUISE ANDREA 

Gold Medalist in Cookery, Panama-Pacific International 

Exposition: Officiaj.. Lecturer on Culinary Topics, 

New York International Exposition, 1918 




NEW YORK 
E. P. BUTTON k COMPANY 

681 Fifth Avenue 



1920 

Copyright, jMM, by 



E. P. DUTTON & CO. 



All Rights Reserved 



^V 



JAN i^-im 



Printed in the United States of America 



ICI.A561528 



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DEDICATED TO 

Herbert C, p0otier 

AS A SINCERE TRIBUTE 

TO HIS SELF-SACRIFICING DEVOTION, 

TIRELESS EFFORTS AND 

REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS 



'Vtj; v' 



PREFACE 

It is generally conceded that really well roasted 
or broiled meats afford the most savory and whole- 
some viands possible. Yet, as we all know, a good 
roast or a perfect broil is a rarity — the broil a mis- 
demeanor usually and the roast a reflection upon 
the perpetrator. And all because of lack of knowl- 
edge as to specific cooking times and details of 
treatment — those apparent "trifles which make 
perfection." 

Obviously, directions have been needed regard- 
ing this important matter — a world-wide need in 
fact, for even in some of the best Parisian 
restaurants the Ros Bif Anglais has been merely 
good material mistreated. 

The directions are here at last. Le voild! A 
book authoritative; showing how to select meats, 
poultry and game and instructing exactly as to 
the proper roasting and broiling thereof, written 
by that renowned master of the culinary art, M. 
Edouard Panchard. What a boon this book will 
prove to the chef, to the hostess and to house- 
keepers everywhere! 

ix 



X PREFACE 

As a most useful and valuable corollary, ]\Ion- 
sieur Panchard has provided specific instructions 
as to carving; and the accompanying illustrations 
showing just how all meats, poultry and game 
should be carved will enable anyone to acquire — 
and immediately — this practical accomplishment 
of which the great Chateaubriand said — "A good 
carver is one of the world's artists and in social 
life so welcome to the hostess that she blesses him 
on behalf of her guests and herself." 

The potpoiirri of choice recipes originated by 
INI. Panchard, included in the volume, deals with 
rechaiiffee and other dishes, serving as guide and 
inspiration for both cooks and housewives, and 
with such recipes to refer to, there will never be 
excuse for monotonous or mediocre meals. 

A. Louise Andrea. 



CONTENTS 



Preface (by A, Louise Andrea) . 

Part I. How to Buy, Cook and Carve. 
Introduction ...... 

Chapter I. The Selection 
Chapter II. The Art of Cooking . 
Chapter III. Serving and Carving . 

Part II. A Potpourri of Recipes. 
Introductory Remarks 
Soups 
Fish 
Salads 
Sauces 
Poultry 
Meats 
Garnishing 
Desserts 
Roasting Time-table 



PAGE 

ix 



1 

5 
63 

83 



109 
110 
114 
118 
118 
122 
127 
131 
132 
134 



XI 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Edouard Panchard Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Prime Ribs of Beef, Boned, Rolled and Tied into Shape . , 8 

Prime Ribs of Beef in Roaster 10 

Roasted Tenderloin of Beef, Garnished 14 

Tenderloin of Beef, Showing Larding 16 

Short Loin of Beef, Ready for Oven 19 

Loin of Veal, Tied into Shape, Ready for Roasting ... 22 
Crown of Lamb, Stuffed, Ready for Roasting .... 26 
Leg of Lamb, Showing Bone Left in. Ready for Oven . . 28 

Shoulder of Lamb, Ready for Oven 31 

Roasted Crown of Lamb, Decorated and Garnished ... 34 
Leg of Lamb Roasted, Garnished and Decorated .... 37 

Carving Leg of Lamb . 40 

Saddle of Mutton, Rolled and Tied 43 

Carving Crown of Lamb 46 

Loin oi- Pork in Pan, Ready to Roast 49 

Turkey Prepared for Oven 52 

Duck, Larded Ready for Oven 58 

Partridge Ready for Roasting, Showing Larding Pork . .61 

Cut from Rump, Ready for Oven .69 

Spring Chicken Split, Ready for Broiling 74 

Pheasant Larded, Ready for Oven 78 

Tenderloin of Beef, Showing Portion Carved ... 82 

Carving Prime Ribs of Beef .85 

Prime Ribs of Beef, Garnished, Ready to Serve . . 87 

Turkey, Garnished for Table .... .92 

Carving Roast Turkey .95 

Broiled Spring Chicken, Garnished . . .99 

CARvaNG Broiled Chicken 101 

Broiled Chicken Carved for Serving 104 



Xlll 



MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 



PART I 
HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 



INTRODUCTION 

Of paramount importance is the selection and 
purchase of food stuffs for the table. Intelligent 
catering and marketing mean quality and fresh- 
ness that cannot be assured if the buying is simply 
considered from the standpoint of convenience. 

The essentials for the daily meals are necessarily 
determined by the resources and stocks of the 
grocers and butchers, and while orders for 
groceries of standard brands may safely be given 
to the clerk who calls upon the housewife, or even 
by telephone, fish, meats, poultry and perishable 
food stuffs should be personally inspected and a 
selection made accordingly. 

Owing to the recently developed interest in 
cookery, and as a result of popular articles deal- 



2 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

ing with foods and nourishment, the old-fashioned 
and very commendable custom of going to market 
is being generally revived and market wisdom is 
assuming the status that it occupied as one of the 
fashionable and sterling accomplishments of our 
grandmothers. 

To know how to select to the greatest advantage, 
every day in the year, the best that the market 
affords, is of far greater importance, both from 
the standpoint of the physical well-being of the 
family, and from that of conserving the family 
income, than is commonly supposed. Yet many 
women in their everyday routine are very careless 
and indifferent concerning these matters. But 
every housekeeper becomes more or less solicitous 
concerning her catering upon occasion of giving a 
breakfast, luncheon, or dinner-party, or even a 
family meal at which guests are to be entertained. 
The instinct of hospitality impels most persons to 
feel that nothing is too good for the invited guest; 
yet the best intentions of the housekeeper who 
habitually entrusts the choice of meats, poultry, 
and game to the butcher, and of vegetables to the 
green-grocer, are often unhappily defeated by the 
dealer's carelessness or by her own inability in an 
emergency to recognize the best, so as to insist 
upon having it. Every woman, out of regard for 
the welfare of her family, should do her own mar- 
keting. But certainly the woman who entertains 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 3 

should cultivate this practice, and the nice skill in 
catering that it gives will add immeasurably to the 
success of her dinner-parties and other entertain- 
ments. 

Not many housekeepers give enough thought to 
the characteristics of the various cuts of meat re- 
sulting from their natural relation to the living 
animal. Indeed, the cook or the carver who 
knows just what part of the living animal 
is represented by the piece before him, or 
what relation the bone in a steak or roast sustains 
to the animal's skeleton, is doubtless the very rare 
exception. Yet nothing could be simpler than to 
familiarize oneself with the various cuts of meat, 
as exemplified in the accompanying plates, or to 
identify these upon the butcher's counter. Indeed, 
any housekeeper can readily arrange, by appoint- 
ment with the butcher, to be at hand when the lat- 
ter is cutting up a side of beef, veal, mutton, or 
pork, and thus receive without expense a practical 
demonstration of the art of meat cutting. 

The method of cutting the various sides of meat 
has been described on another page. It is sufficient 
in this place to discuss the special characteristics 
by which the best grades of meat may be recog- 
nized when marketing, and the qualities of the 
various cuts from the standpoint of catering, es- 
pecially for dinner-parties and other entertain- 
ments. 



4 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Full directions for cooking the various meats 
and meat dishes are also given herein, but it seems 
desirable to give in this connection certain sugges- 
tions of special interest to the woman who enter- 
tains. 



CHAPTER I 
THE SELECTION 

How to Buy Beef 

Beef is a staple article with the butcher and the 
housekeeper the year round, for not only is a fresh 
supply constantly coming into the market, but a 
surplus is always kept in cold storage. Lamb and 
veal are especially seasonable in early Spring and 
Summer, mutton and pork in late Fall and Winter ; 
but beef of good quality may be had at any time, 
and may be served with good taste at any season 
of the year. 

Beef is affected as to quality by several condi- 
tions, such as the breed of the animal, the manner 
of feeding, the amount of exercise, the age when 
killed and the length of time the meat is allowed 
to cure before being used. The beeves from the 
ranges of the West and Southwest — commonly 
known in America as Western or Chicago beef — 
are to be preferred, as a rule, to local beef; indeed, 
there is very little of the latter nowadays in the 
American market. A grass-fed steer, allowed to 

5 



6 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

range on the open plains so as to receive a moder- 
ate amount of exercise, yields, in general, the best 
beef, as these conditions make the animal healthy 
and give the meat the finest flavor; but the stall- 
fed steer also develops beef of good quality. The 
age of the animal at killing for prime beef is four 
years, but the beef continues to be good up to the 
eighth year of the animal's age, after which it is 
likely to become tough and stringy. 

Both the flavor and texture of beef are very 
much improved by hanging, that is, being kept as 
long a time as possible before using. The objects 
of hanging are to allow the skins to dry, thereby 
closing the pores so as to exclude the germs that 
cause decay and to allow the muscular fibers and 
other tissues to relax and soften. To accomplish 
these results a side of meat should be hung up 
(never laid flat on a table or shelf) either in the 
open air — which is to be preferred in a hot, dry 
climate — or in cold storage. The larger the side 
or cut, the longer it may be safely hung before 
being used and for this reason the heaviest sides 
of Western beef are quite commonly shipped to 
England, where the market demands large cuts 
with a "high" flavor resulting from long hanging. 

To select good beef, one should preferably go 
to the butcher-shop and inspect the meat in the 
full side, or at least before the cut is trimmed, and 
should require the cut selected to be set aside and 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 11 

trimmed in one's presence. The beef from a me- 
dium sized carcass, weighing eight hundred to nine 
hundred pounds, is likely to be best. The side or 
cut should be medium fat, not over fat, but cer- 
tainly not lean. 

With the aid of a little experience anyone can 
learn to distinguish between the fine texture and 
bright color of young beef, and the coarse, dry 
texture and dark color of the older animals. The 
flesh in healthy young beeves is firm and of fine 
texture; the color of the lean meat, bright red, 
that of the fat, yellowish white. But observe that 
a dark color in beef may be a mere surface dis- 
coloration due to exposure to the air, which may 
be trimmed off, leaving the rest of the cut entirely 
acceptable for use, or it may be an indication that 
the beef is old, or even tainted. The difference can 
easily be detected when the cut is trimmed. One 
may judge the quality of beef not only by the 
thickness of the layer or fat underlying the skin 
and about the kidneys, but also by the extent to 
which the meat is "marbled," i.e., shot through with 
yellowish white streaks and spots of fat. 

The portion of any animal that gets the least 
exercise is naturally the finest, both in texture and 
flavor. Hence the portion of all animals surround- 
ing the backbone contains the choicest cuts, and 
is preferred to the limbs, neck, and similar pieces. 
In the beef, the choice cuts are the prime ribs, 



12 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

commonly served as roasts, and the Delmonico, 
porterhouse, sirloin, and tenderloin cuts, which may 
be served either in the form of roasts or steaks. 
The chuck or shoulder clod and the rump, round, 
and top sirloin, stand next in order of general de- 
sirability. 

When the beef carcass is first divided into halves, 
the backbone is split lengthwise so that the cuts 
taken from the portions surrounding the backbone 
— including the rib roast, the Delmonico, the 
porterhouse, etc., — each contain a triangular piece 
of bone, representing one-half of the animal's 
vertebrae. The side is next divided into quarters, 
called the fore and hind-quarters, of which the 
muscles of the former having received more exer- 
cise are coarser and tougher than those of the 
latter. By reference to the accompanying illustra- 
tions the sections of bone that are found in the 
various cuts of beef can be readily identified. 
From the standpoint of economy, it is apparent 
that, in general, the amount of bone in the cut 
should be small in proportion to the amount of meat. 
But in this connection the table given elsewhere, 
showing the relative amount of bone in the dif- 
ferent cuts of meat, should be consulted. 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 17 

Cuts Fashionable and Serviceable 

Perhaps the most fashionable cut of beef for a 
dinner-party is the fillet roast, i.e., the entire tender- 
loin detached from the backbone and roasted. The 
fillet should be cut from a young, fat beef, and 
should be well marbled with fat. But since the 
fillet is essentially a piece of lean meat, it is cus- 
tomary to lard the tenderloin by drawing ribbons 
of fat pork through the upper surface by means 
of a larding needle — a hollow implement designed 
expressly for this purpose — in such wise as to leave 
both ends protruding. The larding can be seen 
in the accompanying illustration of carving the 
tenderloin. 

The fillet or tenderloin of beef is, in the opinion 
of many, greatly over-rated. For, although the 
tenderest of all cuts of beef, it is neither as juicy 
nor as rich in flavor as the rest of the loin. When 
planning for a fillet roast, it is sound economy to 
buy the entire loin, i.e., the Delmonico and porter- 
house cuts — or such part of them as may be neces- 
sary to secure a filet of the described size — remove 
the tenderloin for the fillet roast, and reserve the 
rest to be served as steaks, or to be roasted subse- 
quently. The thin end of the tenderloin, extend- 
ing toward the rump, is less desirable, and would 
better be omitted, unless a very large fillet is 
desired. 



18 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Next to the tenderloin, the short loin — including 
the porterhouse, and Delmonico cuts — makes the 
tenderest roast, and excels the fillet in flavor. This 
cut makes an excellent roast for the family dinner 
to which one or more guests are invited. The short 
loin may be prepared for roasting in either of two 
ways, with or without the bone. Many hostesses 
prefer to have the bone removed to facilitate carv- 
ing, in which case the butcher should be instructed 
to this effect when the roast is ordered. 



How Much to Buy 

In buying a roast, allow about one pound, or 
slightly less, for each adult member of the com- 
pany. That is, order a roast of from four to six 
pounds for a dinner party of six people. To pre- 
pare the rib roast, or similar roast of beef, for a 
dinner-party, first make ready the roast as shown 
in the accompanying illustrations, or request the 
butcher to do so, and lay it in the dripping-pan 
upon the rack or trivet, as illustrated. Add salt, 
pepper, and unless the meat is very fat, a few 
drippings or pieces of fine fat. Put the skin side 
down and set the meat in a very hot oven, so that 
the fierce heat may sear and hold the juices in the 
lean part. When this part becomes brown, show- 
ing that the meat has become seared, baste with the 
fat, and reduce the heat. For a dinner-party or 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 23 

company dinner, beef should be roasted rare, the 
condition of beef roasted to a turn being indicated 
by the expression, "the blood should follow the 
Imife." 



Veal 

The subject of veal is of very slight importance 
from the standpoint of catering for entertainments, 
as roasts of veal are rarely employed for this pur- 
pose, and perhaps never except from the stand- 
point of economy. Veal is very much inferior to 
beef, both in flavor and in nutritive qualities, being 
immature at best, but the quality depends largely 
upon the age of the animal when killed, and the 
manner of feeding. The flesh of the calf killed 
under four weeks of age — "bob" veal — should never 
be used for food, and six to ten weeks of age is 
preferable as the time for killing. Veal should be 
very fine grained, tender, and either clear white or 
slightly pinkish in color. If the flesh is flabby, 
watery, and gray or bluish in color, the meat is 
immature and unwholesome. The skin should be 
very dry and white rather than of a grayish color. 
Veal is not very fat, as a rule, but there should be 
some fat to indicate that the animal has been 
properly nourished. The method of cutting up a 
side of veal is sufficiently shown in the illustration. 
The principal roasts are the loin and the shoulder. 



24 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

The loin of veal is prepared for roasting by being 
rolled up with the kidney in the center, and either 
tied with cord or fastened by means of skewers, 
after the same fashion as boned roasts of beef. The 
shoulder, or even the entire fore-quarter, is so small 
that it can be easily boned and rolled for a roast. 
A shoulder of veal weighs about ten pounds and 
makes a suitable roast for twelve or more people. 
These various roasts are sometimes served at in- 
formal family dinners, but are not usually regarded 
as suitable for formal meals or preferred when 
guests have been invited. The leg of veal is usually 
divided into cutlets. The loin or rack is frequently 
divided into chops. 

The loin of veal is carved precisely as the tender- 
loin or Delmonico roasts of beef, except that, being 
the entire joint, the roast is placed upon its side, 
with the backbone next the platter. The slices are 
cut vertically across the grain and then detached 
by cutting with the point of the knife along the 
bone. The shoulder of veal is usually boned and 
stuffed and is carved in the same fashion as the 
short loin, rump, chuck and similar cuts. 

While veal is seasonable in many markets the 
year around, the quality, as a rule, is best in the 
Spring and Summer. It is usually in its prime 
in May. 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 29 

Lamb and Mutton 

From the standpoint of catering for entertain- 
ments, lamb and mutton rank next after beef in 
order of interest and importance, the leg of lamb, 
the crown roast, and the loin roast being esteemed 
as delicacies suitable for the most formal entertain- 
ments. The earliest, or so-called hot-house lambs, 
come into the market toward the end of Winter, 
weighing about twelve or fifteen pounds. Around 
Easter time comes the so-called Easter lamb, 
weighing fifteen to twenty pounds. These are 
followed by the Spring lamb, weighing eighteen to 
twenty-four pounds, during the months of May, 
June and July. Spring lamb is at its prime in the 
latter part of June and July and continues in the 
market until about September. After that, the 
animal being a year or more old, its flesh is known 
as mutton. 

Young lamb meat has a characteristic pinkish 
color, which gradually deepens and becomes red in 
mutton. While spring lamb is esteemed as a great 
delicacy, it is, like veal, relatively immature meat, 
and is less digestible, less nutritious, and by no 
means equally as well flavored, in the judgment of 
epicures, as good mutton. Mutton, moreover, is 
much less expensive than lamb, is more economical 
to carve and serve, and, from the standpoint of 
family means, is more desirable in every way. For 



30 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

formal entertainments and company dinners, how- 
ever, the more delicate young lamb is advisable. 

The best young lamb is from a carcass of me- 
dium weight, of fine, firm texture, clear pink in 
color, and neither too fat nor too lean. The fat 
should be clear white. The age of the animal may 
be determined by the bone in the foreleg, that of 
the young lamb being smooth, and that of the older 
animal showing ridges, which increase in depth 
with age. The quality of mutton may be judged 
by the amount of fat, the texture, and the weight. 
iNIutton should be fatter than lamb, the flesh of 
fine rather than of coarse grain, and the carcass 
small to medium. A large carcass usually indi- 
cates age. Coarseness of texture indicates tough- 
ness. For good mutton the animal should be 
plump, with small bones, and under five years of 
age. Lamb or mutton should be hung at least three 
weeks, and preferably longer, before serving. The 
average mutton carcass weighs from thirty to forty 
pounds. 

The lamb or mutton carcass is usually divided, 
like the beef, first into halves or sides, and after- 
ward into fore- and hind-quarters. But where a 
larger roast than the loin or cro^vn roast is desired, 
the entire back portion of the animal, including the 
loin on both sides of the backbone, is taken out, this 
cut being known as the saddle of lamb or mutton. 
The leg and shoulder of lamb or mutton are com- 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 35 

monly roasted whole. As in the case of beef, the 
loin of lamb is esteemed a great delicacy, and either 
single or in the form of saddle, is a favorite roast 
for company dinners, especially in England. The 
crown roast consists of the fourteen ribs of the fore- 
quarter, trimmed and arranged in circular form, 
fastened with skewers, and stuffed with the por- 
tions trimmed off in dressing the roast which are 
chopped fine for this purpose. If a larger roast is 
required, additional ribs can be inserted, taken 
from the opposite side. 

Lamb and mutton, although delicious when 
properly cooked, are often very uninviting through 
carelessness in cooking and serving. When prop- 
erly decorated and garnished, the crown roast of 
lamb makes a very attractive dish, especially when 
carved at the table, after the English or the Ameri- 
can style of service. For family meals, the loin 
and rack are commonly divided into loin and rib 
chops, respectively. These are broiled and served 
singly. 

The average leg of lamb weighs about six or 
seven pounds, and is sufficient to serve about seven 
or eight persons. A loin roast weighs about three 
pounds, and is sufficient for three persons. The 
saddle is, of course, exactlj^ double the loin in quan- 
tity. The shoulder weighs four to five pounds, 
trimmed ready for roasting. The rack — that is, 
the portion of the spine on the fore-quarter to which 



36 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

the ribs are attached — weighs from two to four 
pounds. The shoulder, or rack, should serve three 
or four persons. 

Roast Leg of Lamb 

To get the most from a leg of lamb, and to 
carve it easily, the butcher should be instructed to 
remove the hip bone. The joint should be put on 
the rack in the dripping-pan with the fleshy part 
up. French cooks flavor roast lamb by inserting 
four or five points of garlic at intervals over the 
surface, in small ox^enings, made by thrusting the 
point of a wooden skewer through the fat and into 
the meat. A better flavor will also be imparted 
to the meat and to the gravy if a few carrots and 
onions are placed around the roast in the pan. 
Small new potatoes may also be baked in the pan, 
as with the roasts of beef. 

When served, the bone in the leg of lamb may 
be decorated with a paper frill, and the platter 
garnished with sprigs of watercress or parsley. To 
carve this joint, it should be placed before the 
carver with the bone to the left and the skin side 
down and steadied by inserting the fork well do^vn 
toward the end of the roast. Thin slices should 
then be cut, beginning at the right end, or thickest 
portion of the roast, at an angle of about thirty 
degrees, working back to the left until the roast is 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 41 

sliced to the bone. Larger slices can be had by slic- 
ing horizontally across the top of the roast, but 
such slices, being cut with the grain, are not equally 
as tender or palatable. Some persons prefer to 
carve this roast vertically, making the first cut 
about the middle of the roast and taking slices 
from either side. And this plan has the merit of 
cutting directly across the grain, which is always 
an advantage. This method is objected to, how- 
ever, by many, as not being economical of the roast, 
for the reason that the slices at either end are too 
small to serve and a portion of the roast is thereby 
wasted; whereas, by the method first above recom- 
mended, the slices taken at an angle across the 
grain, are sufficiently tender and palatable, and yet 
permit of carving the entire upper portion of the 
roast into good-sized slices. If more persons re- 
main to be served after the upper part of the roast 
has been sliced down to the bone, the bone should 
be removed by making an incision on either side 
of it, loosening it at the end, and running the knife 
underneath, between the bone and the meat. The 
lower part of the roast may then be sliced the same 
as the vipper part, the knife being held at such an 
angle as to increase to any desired extent the size 
of the slices. 



42 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Saddle of Mutton 

Few joints are more toothsome or nutritious 
than the well-cooked prime saddle of mutton, 
whether roasted entire or grilled in the form of 
English mutton chops, which include the kidney 
lying just under the vertebrae. The best saddle 
of mutton comes from the short-legged breeds, 
having black legs and feet, and short, thick, stubby 
tails, such as the Southdown, in which the meat 
comes well down the leg, nearly reaching the feet. 
The saddle of lamb or mutton is rolled and fast- 
ened with skewers or tied with cords, and otherwise 
prepared and roasted after the same manner as 
the equivalent roasts of beef. This joint should 
first be boned. To this end place it with the bone 
resting upon the platter and the end toward the 
carver, make an incision the entire length down 
the backbone and remove the meat from the bone 
in two pieces. It may then be carved according 
to two entirely different methods. The English 
method of carving is to slice the meat lengthwise. 
The French method is to slice each piece crosswise, 
precisely as in serving a tenderloin of beef but in 
very thin slices. 

The crown roast, when properly trimmed, 
roasted, decorated, and garnished, makes an ex- 
tremely attractive dish, and is especially suitable 
for the formal breakfast or luncheon. The end 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 47 

of each rib should be decorated with a paper frill, 
and the platter garnished with cress or parsley. 
To carve a crown roast is most simple, the divi- 
sions between the ribs being clearly indicated, and 
no more care being required than is necessary to 
cut the portions of equal thickness. A single chop, 
with a portion of stuffing, a few sprigs of cress or 
parsley, and a spoonful of gravy is served to each 
person. 

Pork 

Pork is seasonable only in autumn and winter. 
The great bulk of the animal is so fat that it is 
unsuitable for food while fresh, and is therefore 
cured and salted as bacon, salt pork, and the like. 
The hams are served either fresh or cured, and may 
be baked, boiled, or broiled in the form of steaks. 
But with the exception of baked cured ham, sliced 
cold, no joint of pork is really suitable for service 
at entertainments. The ribs and loin are the most 
desirable fresh cuts, and may be either roasted or 
served in the form of chops. 

Fresh pork should be of firm texture, and fine 
grain, the lean pink, and the fat, clear white in 
color. The loin of pork is prepared for roasting 
either with or without the bone, in much the same 
fashion as the loin of beef or mutton, except that, 
being a lean piece of meat, it may require to be 



48 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

larded with a strip of bacon or salt pork, laid over 
the top of the joint and fastened with cords, as is 
shown in the illustration. This joint is carved in 
the same manner as the similar points of beef. 



Poultry and Game 

Chicken, turkey, geese, and domestic ducks are 
classified as poultry: wild duck, wild geese, 
partridge, reed birds, quail, and other small birds, 
as game. Poultry is a staple article of diet, being 
more or less available at every season of the year. 
The first broilers come into the market very early 
in the spring, and continue to become more plenti- 
ful, and to decrease in price during the Spring and 
Summer. The season for broilers may be said to 
be at its height in IVIay and June, at which time 
they make an excellent dish for formal breakfasts, 
luncheons, and similar entertainments, and afford 
a substitute for game birds for formal dinners. 
The so-called milk-fed and early Spring chickens 
begin to become available in July, and continue in 
the market until August. They are commonly 
cooked, either a la casserole, or roasted, and make 
an admirable dish for luncheons, breakfasts, and 
dinner-parties, in the form of supreme of chicken, 
i.e., breasts of chicken, either sauted or broiled and 
served with any suitable sauce. Philadelphia 
capons begin to come in about the same time as 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 53 

roasting chicken, namely, in September. They are 
usuall}^ served at dinner, roasted. The capon has 
a somewhat larger and plumper carcass than other 
chickens, and is distinguished by its richer flavor. 

Live chicken and other poultry are usually most 
plentiful before Thanksgiving, and the supply of 
local stock is generally exhausted during or before 
the holidays. After this the city markets are sup- 
plied chiefly with cold storage stock, and hold the 
local stock at an average level of about one-third 
higher. As the season advances, the tendency is 
for the local stock to increase in relative price as 
the cold storage stocks shrink and deteriorate in 
quality. 

The season for turkey is now very similar to that 
for chicken. Not many years ago turkeys were 
thought to be at their best only on or after Thanks- 
giving Day, but young turkeys, comparable to 
chicken broilers and milk-fed chicken, are now com- 
monly cooked and accepted as a Summer delicacy. 
Young Guinea hen broilers and roasting chickens 
are also very delicious, being even more tender 
when properly cooked, than chicken, and having 
a distinctive flavor that makes them an excellent 
substitute for game birds. 

The season for domestic ducks is the same as 
that for chicken. The quality of poultry depends 
upon the breed, the method of feeding, the age of 
the bird when killed, the manner in which the car- 



54 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

cass is dressed, and the length of time that it has 
been upon the market. No other kind of meat 
requires more knowledge, skill, and care in cater- 
ing than poultry. As to breed, the black- and red- 
feathered birds are always to be preferred to the 
light-feathered varieties, and the gray-feathered 
birds are always to be avoided. The best chickens 
have soft, yellow feet, smooth, thick legs, and 
smooth yellow or white skins. The yellow skinned 
birds are likely to be more plump; those having 
white skin more tender. The skin should be moist 
and tender and the breast plump and firm. The 
cartilage of the breastbone should be soft and pli- 
able. But observe that this cartilage is sometimes 
broken to deceive purchasers, a device which, how- 
ever, if the purchaser be upon the guard, can be 
very easily detected. 

As to feeding, grain-fed chickens are to be pre- 
ferred to those fed upon table scraps or garbage. 
Fowls fed upon rice, as is quite customary in cer- 
tain parts of the South, have white fat, and the 
Southern barnyard fed turkey, fattened on small 
rice, is among the finest of domestic fowl. Poultry 
fed on cornmeal have yellow fat. The so-called 
milk- fed chickens are presumed to be fed, or at 
least fattened, in large part, upon meal, or other 
ground grain mixed with milk instead of water. 

The age of poultry at the time of killing may 
usually be determined by the legs and feet, which 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 55 

in young birds are smooth, moist, and supple, and 
in older fowl, hard and scaly. One test is to try 
the skin under the leg or wing, or to seize a pinch 
of the breast and twist it. If the skin and flesh 
is tender and breaks easily, the bird is young and 
fresh. Otherwise, it is probably old, and certainly 
tough. Also turn the wing backward. If the joint 
yields readily it is tender. The eyes of fresh young 
fowls are full and bright. A growth of hair over 
the carcass is an indication of age in both chicken 
and turkey. Plentiful pin feathers denote a young 
bird. The flesh of the old turkey, where it shows 
under the skin upon the back and legs, is purplish. 
Observe in this connection that about March tur- 
keys begin to deteriorate in quality. 

As to the method of dressing, great care should 
be taken to avoid poultry the flesh of which has 
become tainted and unwholesome. All poultry 
should be promptly and properly drawn, but the 
laws of some states permit of fowls being kept for 
sale undrawn, a condition which is not only a seri- 
ous menace to health, but is ruinous to their proper 
flavor. The partly, or otherwise improperly, 
drawn chicken is often as bad (and sometimes even 
worse) than the undrawn one. The higher price 
charged in most markets for the so-called Phila- 
delphia chickens is a premium paid for proper 
methods of killing and preparing them for market. 

The flavor of poultry is also impaired by scald- 



56 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

ing, as an aid in removing the feathers, hence the 
dry picked fowl sells at a higher price, and is to 
be preferred although its appearance may be some- 
what less attractive. 

As to the length of time that poultry has been 
upon the market, the law in most states gives the 
buyer little or no protection, and in these days of 
cold storage it behooves one to be upon guard and 
to place little or no reliance upon the representa- 
tions of dealers, except when buying in the most 
reliable local markets. One of the best tests of 
the fresh chicken is the color and condition of the 
eyes. If they are bright and clear, as in life, the 
chicken is fresh, but if dull and lusterless, or even 
further deteriorated, the carcass has been for some 
time in cold storage. Another test is to open the 
beak of the chicken and note whether the blood is 
still red, in which case the chicken is fresh; 
whereas, if it is white, the opposite is true. 

Ducks and Geese 

A domestic duck or goose should never be more 
than a year old. Young ducks and geese have white, 
soft feet and tender wings. The body should be 
plump and thick, the fat light and semi-trans- 
parent, the breastbone soft, the flesh tender. The 
beak should be flesh-colored and brittle. The 
wind-pipe should break when pressed between the 
thumb and fore-finger. 







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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 59 

Domestic ducks — commonly called in Eastern 
markets, Long Island duckling — and the domestic 
geese, are at ordinary prices, as economical as 
chicken, and may well be used for family dinners 
on Sundays, holidays, and other special occasions, 
for the sake of variety, somewhat more commonly 
than they now are. The season is the same as for 
poultry. 

Game Birds 

The principal game birds in the American 
market are wild duck — such as the Canvas, Mal- 
lard, Redhead, Blackhead, quail, woodcock, snipe, 
etc. The best test for selecting game birds is to 
weigh each one in the hand. The finest birds are 
always heaviest for their size. The flesh of the 
breast should be firm, fat, and plump, and the skin 
clear. Pluck a few feathers so as to expose the 
flesh inside the leg and about the vent. The flesh 
of the newly killed bird will be fresh in color and 
fat; that of the bird which has been hung a long 
time will be dark and discolored. The wings of 
the larger game birds should be tender to the touch. 
The small ones should have full and tender breasts. 
Note that in the partridge the tips of the wing 
are pointed in young birds, and round in old ones. 
The partridge should have full, heavy breasts, dark 
bill, and yellowish legs. 



60 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

A good substitute for tHe smaller game birds 
is the squab, or the young of the domestic pigeon, 
which are available in most city markets at prices 
within the means of persons who have occasion to 
entertain in a formal way. The flesh of young 
pigeons is light red upon the breast, the legs are 
full and fresh colored. If the breast meat is dark 
and the legs thin, the birds are old. 

Wild duck and most other game birds are in 
season from November until JMarch. 




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CHAPTER II 
THE ART OF COOKING 

General Characteristics of Cooking Meat 

There are three typical methods of cooking 
meat: first, by the application of intense heat to 
keep in the juices, as by roasting, baking, or broil- 
ing; second, by placing the meat in cold water and 
cooking for a long time at a low temperature, i.e., 
boiling; and, third, by a combination of the two 
processes, first searing, and then afterwards stew- 
ing the meat. The first method is suitable only 
for the most tender cuts, young poultry and game 
birds, and as these are the kinds of meat most often 
selected for meals at which company is to be enter- 
tained, the processes of roasting, baking, and broil- 
ing, and the kinds of meat, poultry and game that 
are the best adapted to these methods of cookery 
are of chief interest in this connection. 

Cooks recognize a distinction between roasting 
and baking. The word roasting, properly speak- 
ing, applies to the old-fashioned method of cooking 
by the direct radiant heat from the open fire; 
whereas baking is cooking by heat reflected by the 

63 



64 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

sides of the oven. The older method of roasting 
is now very little practiced in private houses, and 
the term roasting is now most often improperly 
applied to baking in an oven. The rules for the 
treatment of the meat, however, are substantially 
the same in both cases, and the two processes there- 
fore may properly be dealt with together. 

Meat which is to be roasted should never be 
washed, but only wiped over on the outside with 
a clean damp cloth. For roasting in the older 
sense of the term, it should then be hung on the 
roasting spit or hook. For baking it should be set 
on the trivet or meat stand, and placed in a drip- 
ping-pan large enough to project two or three 
inches all around it. The modern double dripping- 
pan, having a close-fitting cover, with a vent to 
allow the escape of gases and steam from the meat 
juices, is infinitely superior to the old-fashioned 
single pan, and the purchase of at least two such 
pans — one of about 8 inches for small roasts, game 
birds, and the like, and one about 18 inches for 
large joints, roasting chicken and turkey — is to be 
earnestly recommended to every housewife. 

The Question of Temperature 

A. very essential point in roasting or baking 
meat properly is to expose the joint or bird for 
the first few minutes to a very high temperature 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 65 

to sear the surface and thereby harden the albumen 
on thfe outside so as to prevent the escape of the 
meat juices, and then to lower the temperature and 
keep it at a substantially lower point for the re- 
mainder of the time that the joint requires for 
roasting or baking, with the object of preventing 
a similar hardening of the albumen in the interior 
of the meat. The proper temperature for a large 
piece of meat at the beginning is about 550 degrees, 
but after the surface is well browned, the tempera- 
ture should be dropped to about 400 degrees, and 
kept at this point until the process is finished. To 
accomplish this, a roast of meat should be hung 
close to the fire, and meat to be baked should be 
placed in the hottest part of the oven, until the 
surface is thoroughly browned. Then it should be 
drawn back or moved to a cooler part of the oven. 
If a gas oven is being used, the gas should be 
turned on full, in advance, and allowed to burn 
about ten minutes. Then it may be turned down 
slightly to reduce the temperature. In the absence 
of an oven thermometer the cook must of course 
learn by experiment the proper management of 
her own oven. 



Basting and Larding 

Meat, while being cooked, whether by roasting 
or baking, must be often basted, i.e., the melted fat 



66 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

which has run from it must be poured over its 
surface with a spoon or ladle, to prevent the roast 
from drying out or burning. In order to insure 
that there may be sufficient dripping for this pur- 
pose, the cook must take notice whether the meat 
has enough fat; otherwise a little additional fat 
should be put in the pan, and also upon the top 
of the roast. Lean joints of meat, or poultry, 
game, and the like — which have no natural fat on 
the outside — should be larded by having slices of 
fat bacon laid over them and tied tightly with a 
cord to protect the meat from browning too 
rapidly. Or a piece of buttered paper may be 
used for this purpose, which may be taken off dur- 
ing the last fifteen minutes so that the surface may 
become brown. Larding is usually necessary for 
thick pieces only. IMeat roasting before an open 
fire requires frequent basting, at intervals of about 
ten minutes. INIeat baking in the oven — except for 
very small pieces — requires basting only about half 
as often, or at intervals of twenty minutes. 

A Few Points on the Cooking of Beef 

The time required for a thick piece of beef is 
about fifteen minutes to the pound, and fifteen 
minutes over, and the roast should be ready at least 
a half an hour before being carved, in order to 
allow the albumen inside to set. A somewhat 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 67 

longer time should be allowed for a roast which 
has been boned and rolled into symmetrical form 
as such a roast is more compact and the interior 
heats through more slowly. 

No water should be placed in the dripping-pan 
unless there is danger that the fat in the bottom 
may be burned, in which case a tablespoonful at 
a time may be added. The juices from the meat 
will ordinarily form a sufficient gravy. But the 
flavor of the gravy may be very much enhanced by 
placing around the roast in the pan a few small 
carrots and onions, and a sprinkling of bay leaves, 
thyme and parsley. Many hostesses also add small, 
new potatoes in season, previously peeled, to be 
baked, browned, and flavored by the roast. 

Lean roasts of meat and poultry or game birds, 
that are deficient in fat, may also require larding, 
i.e., the addition of some meat or vegetable fat, 
such as fine drippings, lard, or vegetable fat. 
Butter should not be used for this purpose, as it 
is likely to burn at the bottom of the pan. The 
gravy, however, should not be suffered to become 
too rich and greasy. If any fat is evident upon 
the surface of the gravy, it should be poured off 
before the gravy is served or thickened. 

The gravy may be thickened or not, as the 
hostess prefers, the unthickened or "dish gravy" 
being usually given preference at formal meals, 
and the thickened gravy being perhaps more cus- 




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70 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

toniary at family dinners. French cooks, in order 
to make a somewhat richer gravy, commonly 
sprinkle dry flour over the roast before placing it 
in the pan. After becoming browned and flavored 
by contact with the roasting meat, this flour, 
gradually falling into the bottom of the pan, 
browns and flavors the gravy and slightly thickens 
it. After the meat is done and has been removed 
to the platter, hold the corner of the dripping-pan 
over a bowl, pour off the fat from the top of the 
gravy, and save it. Then pour one pint of good 
stock into the pan, dissolve it in all the sediment 
of the coagulated albumen and juices, simmer, 
until it has been reduced about one-third in bulk 
and pour into the sauce bowl. For further sug- 
gestions on the length of time required for roast- 
ing, consult the Complete Time Table, page 134, 
and "How Long to Cook a Roast" on page 71. 
The prime ribs of beef are used chiefly for roasts, 
and constitute the best part of the fore-quarter. 
Between the four cuts of prime ribs there is 
very decided preference. The first cut, that 
nearest the hind-quarter, is very nearly equal 
in quality to the short loin, and is valued accord- 
ingly. The second cut is also a very good roast. 
The others are less desirable in their order. Rib 
roasts may also be had boned and rolled by the 
butcher, if desired, but these cuts are quite com- 
monly roasted with the bones, upon the ground 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 71 

that they give the roast additional flavor, and also 
cause it to present a more attractive appearance. 
Other less desirable, but also less expensive roasts, 
are the top of the round, i.e., the inside of the 
hind-quarter of the animal — so named because that 
side usually lies uppermost on the butcher's counter 
— the rump, and the chuck, or shoulder clod, a solid 
piece of meat of low cost, but of fair quality. 

How Long to Cook a Roast 

Some experience is required to determine when 
a roast is sufficiently done. The inexperienced 
cook should consult the Time Table, on another 
page. But one must also realize that the time 
required depends upon the weight and the quality 
of the roast. As a general rule, a thick piece of 
beef requires fifteen minutes to the pound, and fif- 
teen minutes over. A similar piece of pork or veal 
will require twenty minutes to the pound, and fif- 
teen minutes over; poultry, fifteen minutes to the 
pound. 

With a little experience, the cook should be able 
to tell when the meat is done by pressing with the 
finger upon the outside. If the roast is well done, 
the outside will recover slowly from the pressure 
of the finger. If done, it will rebound at once. If 
overdone, it will scarcelv yield at all, 



72 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Broiling 

Broiling, like roasting, is cooking by the direct 
rays of the fire but, unlike roasting, it is adapted 
to small and thin pieces of meat, such as chops, 
steak, chicken, and smaller game birds. The whole 
of the cooking is accomplished by sharp heat ap- 
plied to the outside, but so regulated as to allow 
the outside to be hardened while the inside is being 
gently cooked. To accomplish perfect broiling, 
some care and experience are required, and lack 
of care and judgment many times causes failure 
in broiling, the meat being either tough and dry 
or underdone. In cooking on the grill, the state 
of the fire must be taken into consideration. The 
coals must be glowing, without smoke or flame. 
Should flame arise a few drops of cold water 
sprinkled over the coals will cause them to subside. 
For broiling by gas, the gas must be lighted long 
enough in advance to radiate a strong heat, both 
over and under the grill. The grill must be greased 
with suet or pieces of larding pork, and the steak 
or other pieces of meat to be broiled laid on this, 
held at a proper distance from the fire, and turned 
once in a while till done. A chop or steak when 
properly grilled, should look plump in the middle, 
and should be rare and juicy, rather than dry and 
hard. 

As to the time required for broiling, observe 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 75 

that, in general, the time is regulated, not by 
weight, but by the thickness of the meat, and is 
approximately as folloAvs: For a steak, one and 
one-half inches thick, underdone, fifteen minutes; 
well done, twenty minutes. For a steak, one incli 
thick, underdone, twelve minutes; well done, fif- 
teen minutes. For spring chicken fifteen minutes, 
squab chicken, ten minutes. For a lamb chop, 
seven minutes ; and for a veal chop, fifteen minutes. 

Poultry 

As a general thing, fresh-killed poultry should 
not be cooked for twenty-four hours, although in 
hot climates, as for example, in the southern 
United States, broiling and roasting chickens are 
commonly sold alive, and killed by the cook and 
immediately prepared for the oven. But at all 
events, poultry should be picked and drawn as 
soon as possible after killing. The flavor of poultry 
is better if the birds are picked dry, but the feathers 
will come off more easily if the fowl .^s plunged 
into a pot of scalding water. After the carcass 
is picked clean, it should be held over the coals 
or over a roll of burning white paper on an alcohol 
flame, to singe off all hairs. 

To draAV poultry and game, make cut around 
the vent and make an incision up toward the breast 
bone. Insert tAvo fingers, loosen the fat from the 



76 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

skin and separate the membranes lying close to the 
body. Keep the fingers up close to the breastbone 
until you can reach in beyond the liver and heart 
and loosen them upon either side, gradually work- 
ing the fingers around toward the back. Always 
remember that the gall bladder lies under the liver 
at the left side, and that if it is broken, the contents 
will make every part of the meat that it touches 
bitter and unfit for use. If the fingers are kept 
up and everything is carefully loosened before be- 
ing drawn out, there will be less danger of its 
breaking. The kidneys and lungs are not infre- 
quently left in by careless cooks, but everything 
should be taken out that is movable. After the 
bird has been draAvn, it should be wiped dry, inside 
and out, with a clean towel. The head and neck 
should then be cut off, and the bird trussed for 
the oven. 

To truss a chicken or turkey draw the thighs 
up close to the body, cross the legs over the vent, 
and tie firmly with twine. Thrust a skewer through 
one thigh, into the body, and out through the op- 
posite thigh, and another in like manner through 
the wings. Draw the wings and thigh closely to- 
gether, and tie firmly with twine. Since poultry 
and game birds have little or no fat in the meat 
under the skin, they should be larded by laying a 
thin strip of salt pork or bacon over the breast 
after the carcass has been placed on its back in the 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 79 

dripping-pan, as shown in the accompanying illus- 
trations. When roasting a chicken or small fowl 
there is danger that the legs may burn or become 
too hard to be eaten. To avoid this, a strip of cloth 
dipped in a little melted lard, or rubbed with lard, 
may be wound about the legs while the heat in the 
oven is highest, and afterward removed in time to 
allow the legs to brown sufficiently. This difficulty 
will be overcome, however, if the deep roasting pan 
with a close cover is used, as shown in the illustra- 
tions. These pans are made double, with only a 
small opening in the top as a vent for the accumula- 
tion of steam and gases, but retain most of the 
moisture and flavor of the juices, that would other- 
wise be lost in large measure by evaporation. 

To dress a chicken or other bird for broiling, 
pick, singe, cut off the head and neck close to the 
breast, and the legs at the knee joints. Singe 
again, wipe dry, and split down the middle of the 
back, instead of along the belly. Lay the carcass 
open, and remove the contents. Cut the tendons 
in the thighs or break the joints, and remove the 
breast bone to facilitate carving. Lay the carcass 
flat between the double broiler, as illustrated, or 
upon the bars of the grill, and broil, for the squab 
chicken, ten minutes, and for the spring chicken, 
fifteen minutes. 

To cut up a raw chicken for fricasseeing, pick 
and wipe dry as for a roasting chicken. First take 



80 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

off the legs from the carcass, then the wings. Then 
separate the breast from the remainder of the car- 
cass. Split it into two and cut each half to the 
breast into either two or three parts, according to 
the size of the chicken. Cut the rest of the carcass 
crosswise, in three pieces or, if the chicken is very 
big, split the carcass in two before cutting cross- 
wise. Separate the drum-sticks from the second 
joints and cut the latter in two. If bird is a heavy 
one the second joint will make three cuts. 

Roasting Duck 

The wild duck, notably the Canvasback, Mal- 
lard, and Redhead, are deservedly among the most 
popular game birds of the world. They are 
roasted, without trussing, in their own juices, but 
when roasting Mallard it is customary to put in- 
side the carcass a few sticks of celery. Wild duck 
are so expensive as rarely to be served in the 
ordinary household, and are still more rarely 
properly cooked. Duck should be roasted very 
rare, the test of duck done to a turn, being that 
"the blood will follow the knife." To find out 
whether the duck is done, lift the bird and let a 
few drops of blood run out from the carcass. If 
the blood comes out bluish, it is ready to be served. 



CHAPTER III 
SERVING AND CARVING 

Roast Beef 

The fillet or tenderloin, properly larded, 
presents a very attractive appearance, especially 
when garnished with a few sprigs of watercress or 
parsley. To carve, it should be held firmly with 
a fork, grasped in the left hand, and cut into slices 
slightly less than a half inch thick, beginning with 
the thicker or forward portion of the tenderloin, 
and continuing toward the thin end. The slices 
should be cut squarely across the grain of the 
tenderloin, which is usually at a slight angle from 
the plate on which the fillet lies. 

To serve a fillet of beef, serve each person one 
slice, add a few sprigs of parsley or cress, and put 
a spoonful of mushroom sauce upon the side of 
the plate. 

The short loin, the top of the round, the rump, 
and the chuck roasts are carved and served in the 
same manner as the tenderloin, i.e., in slices cut 
vertically across the grain, except that they should 
be sliced as thin as possible. The top of the round, 

83 



88 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

especially, should be in very thin slices, as it is 
rather tough although juicy and well flavored. 

The process of carving a porterhouse, Del- 
monico, or rib roast depends upon whether or not 
the bones have been removed. In the latter case 
the roast should be rolled into symmetrical shape, 
and fastened by means of either metal or wooden 
skewers, preferably the former, or by means of a 
cord. The proper cord for this purpose is rather 
large and soft and should be cut into the right 
lengths, drawn tightly around the roast, and 
knotted at intervals of about one inch throughout 
its entire length. The cord should not be con- 
tinuous, else the carver will have difficulty in 
separating it and it will present an untidy and awk- 
ward appearance. 

The accompanying illustration shows a rib roast 
from which the bones have not been removed, the 
ends of the ribs being decorated with paper frills, 
and the platter garnished with watercress. To 
carve such a roast, observe that it should be placed 
before the carver with the ribs protruding to his 
left. He then steadies the roast by grasping the 
uppermost rib with the left hand, and cuts very 
thin slices transversely across the grain, until the 
edge of the knife encounters the rib. Then, he 
draws the point of the knife across the slices near 
the bone, so as to separate them. 

The process of carving a porterhouse, Del- 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 89 

monico, or rib roast from which the bone has been 
removed is precisely similar, except that the roast 
is steadied by means of a fork, firmly inserted at 
a point just below the slice that is next to be taken, 
and that the skewers or cords with which the roast 
is fastened together must be removed, one by one, 
as they are encountered. If the skewers are in- 
serted, as they should be directly across the grain 
of the meat, so as to be parallel with the slices, they 
can usually be loosened without difficulty, and 
should be placed upon the side of the platter or 
carving board. If the roast is bound with cords, 
only one cord should be cut at a time. This should 
be loosened with the fork, and allowed to fall upon 
the side of the platter or carving board, with due 
care that it does not come in contact with the cloth. 
The other cords should be left in place until the 
rest of the roast is sliced down to them, in order 
to keep it in shape and preserve the uniformity of 
the slices, and also to prevent the juices from run- 
ning out. 

Beefsteak 

The Delmonico, porterhouse, and sirloin cuts 
are very commonly served as steaks, either broiled 
or planked, broiled steak being a favorite dish in 
American households for informal family dinners, 
to which one or more guests are invited. Instruc- 
tions for broiling and planking steaks are given 



90 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

elsewhere, but observe that any steaks worthy of 
the name should be cut ver}^ thick — an inch and a 
half or even tAvo inches being about the proper 
thickness — and that they should be broiled or 
roasted very rare, so that the meat will be bright 
and red, rather than white or even brown, in color. 
One of the most common and flagrant errors of 
the American cook is to order (or accept) steaks 
cut a half inch or less in thickness, and to fry them 
until they are done brown through and through, 
and of a tough and leathery consistency. 

The carving of steak will be greatly expedited 
if the butcher is instructed to take out the bone — 
which can be done to very much better advantage 
before the steak is cooked than afterward — and 
steaks to be planked are invariably boned before 
planking. Otherwise the carver should first re- 
move the bone by cutting along its edge with the 
thin round-pointed knife, which is elsewhere 
recommended for this purpose. He should then 
divide the entire steak, except the thin portion at 
the small end, into sections of an inch or more in 
width, depending upon the thickness of the steak 
and the number of guests, beginning with the wide 
or bone end of the steak. 

In serving porterhouse, Delmonico and similar 
beef-steaks, the fact should be borne in mind that 
the tenderloin and wider portion of the steak 
opposite the tenderloin, is superior in texture and 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 93 

flavor to the narrow portion at the opposite end. 
Hence, in justice to all, it is desirable to divide 
the steak, if possible, into about twice as many 
strips as there are guests, and to serve each guest 
with one of the less desirable, as well as one of the 
more desirable portions. 

A steak should preferably be garnished with 
sprigs of watercress, one or two of which should 
be placed beside each portion served, and a spoon- 
ful of gravy should be added upon the side of 
the plate. The planked steak is served with an 
assortment of vegetables, the various vegetables 
being placed around the steak in orderly array, 
so as to form a most effective garnish. Planked 
steak is first divided in the same manner as any 
other; then one or more slices are served to each 
plate, and a helping of each of the various 
vegetables added, with care to preserve their 
separate identities and to avoid jumbling all to- 
gether. 

Poultry 

To carve a turkey or other large bird, such as 
goose, duck, or roasting chicken, place the carcass 
on a platter or wooden carving board, upon its 
back, with the head to the left, the carcass resting 
diagonally rather than at right angles to the 
carver's body. Insert a fork firmly across the 



94 MEATS. POULTRY AND GAME 

breast bone, grasp the fork with the left hand, 
firmly enough to steady the carcass on the side 
nearest the carver, cutting clear down to the leg 
joint. Force the leg over sharply from the car- 
cass, so as to expose the joint, and completely sever 
the drumstick and second joint in one piece from 
the carcass. Separate the drumstick from the 
second joint b}^ cutting from the point of the angle 
between them upon the inside, straight in and di- 
rectly across the joint, the exact location of which 
can be easily ascertained by the sense of touch by 
manipulating with the fingers and feeling the joint 
in the carcass of the uncooked bird. If this cut is 
made at the right point, no further difficulty need 
be anticipated. For if the knife is drawn squarely 
across the joint, it will separate without resistance, 
whereas at any other point the knife will encounter 
solid bone. 

Now make an incision along either side of the 
bone, in the second joint, cut under the bone at 
the end, lift it up, and cut underneath and between 
the bone and the meat, so as to remove the bone 
from this joint entirely. 

Now carve thin slices of the white meat from the 
breast, parallel with the breastbone, and similar 
slices of the dark meat from the face of the second 
joint, also parallel with the bone, and serve to each 
person a slice of the white and a slice of the dark 
meat with a few sprigs of cress or parsley, a por- 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 97 

tion of the dressing, and a spoonful of gravy upon 
the side of the plate. 

If the slices from the breast and second joint are 
sufficient to serve the entire company, the carver 
need proceed no further; but if not, the wing 
should next be cut off, in the same manner as the 
leg, and similarly divided at the joint, the second 
joint of the wing being served as one portion. The 
tip of the wing and the drumstick are neither 
carved nor served except when necessary at the 
family dinner, but are usually, reserved and con- 
sumed in the form of hash, or other palatable 
rechauffe. 

Should the whole turkey be required, the platter 
should be turned and the opposite side carved in 
precisely the same fashion, but the carver should 
proceed no further than is necessary, leaving the 
remainder of the carcass intact, for another meal. 

Wild Duck 

One duck is usually served for two persons al- 
though occasionally a large duck, like the Mallard, 
might be big enough for three. To carve wild 
duck, insert a fork in the carcass with the left 
hand, just behind the breastbone, make an incision 
with the knife from the point of the breastbone 
down the middle of the breast, and cut a^long this 
line between the breastbone and the meat, be- 
ginning at the head of the bird, and forcing the 



98 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

knife between the bone and the meat until the 
whole breast has been removed in one piece. Where 
a duck is served for two persons, half of the breast 
is served to each, the remainder of the carcass be- 
ing reserved for salmi or similar rechauffe. 

Partridge 

Place the bird with the head toward the carver, 
insert a fork near the breastbone, and cut through 
the center of the breast and back, lengthwise cut- 
ting the bird right through. Serve a half of the 
partridge to each person, with currant jelly, and 
bread sauce, or fried bread crumbs. Sometimes a 
large partridge may be served to the three persons 
by separating the breast from the breastbone, and 
dividing the breast into three parts. 

Broilers 

Place the chicken with the head toward the 
carver, disjoint the leg by inserting a fork in the 
second joint and making an incision with the knife 
around the leg joint, bend the joint over sharply, 
separate it from the breast, and divide the leg at 
the joint. Sj)lit the breast in two. Serve half the 
breast and the second joint to each person, with a 
spoonful of drawn butter and a few sprigs of cress 
or parsley. Or each half of the breast and each 
second joint may be served on toast, as separate 
portions. Broiled chicken is an excellent dish to 
serve for a breakfast or luncheon. 




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HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 105 

Turkey 

To carve a broiled young, or spring, turkey, pro- 
ceed precisely as for the broiled chicken, but cut 
the second joint and each half of the breast into 
two parts. To carve broiled Guinea hen, pro- 
ceed precisely as for a broiled chicken. 

Small Birds 

Quail, woodcock, snipe and other small birds are 
served whole, a single bird to each person. The 
diner, in separating for himself the meat of small 
birds from the carcass, should bear in mind that, 
hoAvever toothsome may seem these tempting 
morsels, it is not customary to dissect the small 
carcass in order to secure every edible morsel, but 
that as a rule, only the thick meat upon the breast, 
and perhaps a portion of the second joint, is eaten. 
No blunder is commoner or more egregious than 
to cut off the drumstick and pick it up with the 
fingers, in order to gnaw the meat from the bone. 
The trite old saying, that fingers were made before 
forks, so commonly quoted as an apology, only 
serves to make the offense greater, and the offender 
more ridiculous. A person who handles small 
game birds after this fashion, at a formal dinner — 
which is the only occasion when they are likely to 
be served, lays himself open to the suspicion that 
he is doubtful of ever having such another oppor- 
tunity and is resolved to make the most of the 
present one. 



106 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Utensils for Carving 

When joints, poultry, or game are carved in the 
butler's pantry or upon the side board, as is cus- 
tomary for formal table service a la Russe, the 
joint or bird is removed from the platter upon 
which it is brought in, to a carving board, a flat 
piece of hard wood, which may or may not be 
mounted on short legs, and surrounded by a strip 
of silver or other metal. The carving board should 
preferably be about one and one-half or two inches 
in thickness, and should be scored with a number 
of grooves, converging into a well or depression 
at one end of the board to catch and retain the meat 
juices or gravy. 

The use of the carving board for carving at table 
in private houses is a new custom, and by no means 
a generally established one. Indeed, a fancy carv- 
ing board is not obtainable in many localities, al- 
though the style of board used for planking steak 
or fish affords a good substitute, and if bought and 
reserved exclusively for this purpose may be re- 
garded as entirely satisfactory. Where the roast 
is brought in upon a silver trencher, the carving 
board is really necessary to avoid scratching the 
metal. And even where the roast is brought in 
upon an ordinary porcelain platter, it can be 
handled much more satisfactorily if transferred to 
the carving board. For the coarser texture of the 



HOW TO BUY, COOK AND CARVE 107 

board prevents the roast from slipping away from 
the carver, and by giving the carver more room, 
it does away with the liability of gravy stains and 
similar accidents. After the roast has been placed 
upon the carving board and carved, the portions 
are replaced upon the platter before serving. 
Whether or not the carving board is used, the in- 
structions given for carving the various joints and 
birds, respectively, are in nowise altered. 

A complete set of carving tools of the best 
quality such as that employed professionally by the 
writer, consists of twelve knives of assorted sizes, 
a fork, and a steel, which, packed in a suitable case, 
costs approximately fifty dollars. Two, or at 
most, three knives, besides the fork and steel, are 
sufficient, however, for the ordinary householder. A 
large, thin, broad-bladed, round-pointed knife, 
about 12 inches long, is desirable, but is used for 
carving beefsteaks only. A sharp-pointed knife of 
the French pattern, shown in the accompanying 
illustrations, about 9 inches long, is the best utensil 
for general use in carving roasts, as joints of meat 
and poultry. And a similar knife about 7 inches 
long is desirable for carving duck, partridge, and 
other game birds. A suitable fork is, of course, 
necessary, and while the expert carver does not 
require the protection of the steel guard upon the 
fork, such a device is advisable for the inexperi- 
enced person, for in carving, the edge of the knife 



108 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

is often drawn toward the hand holding the fork, 
and the resistance of the knife blade varies greatly, 
and there is always danger that its edge may be 
deflected by a skewer or piece of bone or tendon, 
so that serious accidents are liable to occur. 

No one can do satisfactory carving without a 
sharp knife, and to this end it is thoroughly sound 
economy to buy a carving set of the best grade, to 
cause the knives to be ground as often as may be 
necessary to keep them sharp and to furnish one- 
self with a good steel. The edge of the carving 
knife like that of the razor, deteriorates more or 
less while standing, and hence the carver should 
always sharpen the knife upon the steel imme- 
diately before using. To use the steel, it should 
be held in the left hand, the point raised and in- 
clining slightly towards the carver's body. The 
knife should be held in the right hand, at an angle 
of about 35 degrees from the steel, and drawn 
along the side of the steel, from the point of the 
steel downward toward the hand and from the heel 
to the point of the knife, the strokes being reversed 
from side to side of the steel. The touch should 
be very light, as a good steel — especially if it has 
been thoroughly magnetized as it should be — will 
not fail to do its work if contact with the edge of 
the knife is really established. About a half dozen 
strokes will be sufficient, unless the knife is very 
much out of condition. 



PART II 
A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Having considered broiling and roasting meats, 
poultry and game, let us take up other details of 
cookery. 

The subject of rechauffe dishes is worthy of at- 
tention. Serving left-overs appetizingly has be- 
come an important matter, and "warmed again" 
is no longer an apologetic term. Indeed, the word 
Rechauffe has acquired a veritable dignity — ^well 
deserved and permanent, I venture to assert. And 
when we realize what savory and delicious dishes 
may be made from left-overs, the foregoing state- 
ment is certainly a propos. 

Good recipes are always welcomed, both by 
housewives and cooks consequently an agreeable 
variety is added to the menus thereby. Moreover, 
as experience has shown me that recipes for tasty 

109 



110 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

soups and perfect sauces are especially prized, I 
am furnishing recipes of my own, with specific di- 
rections for soups, sauces and dressings, such as 
I have found to be particularly well liked and in 
the greatest demand. 



SOUPS 

Noodle Dumplings for Soup 

This is a good soup embellishment; an addition 
of the force-meat and noodle nature. Beat three 
eggs with two tablespoons of water and a pinch of 
salt and add enough flour to make a dough that 
can be rolled out thin. 

Fold it double; cut in squares, have ready some 
minced cooked chicken or veal, or both, and fill 
the dumplings, sprinkling with chopped parsley 
and a few tiny bits of butter. Fold over and pinch 
the edges a little; when the soup boils put them 
in and let them boil gently until done. Serve with 
the soup. 

Cold Beet Soup, Vladimir 

Grate eight raw beets, and put in a saucepan with 
one glass of good white wine, Sauterne preferred. 
Bring to a boil; and boil five minutes; then strain 
through a fine cloth, and let it cool by placing on 
ice. 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 111 

Separate the yolks from the whites of four hard- 
boiled eggs; pass the yolks through a sieve; mix 
with one pint of sour cream, and add it to the 
essence of beets. Season well with salt and pepper, 
and serve, on a bed of ice, in cups with a garniture 
made from the whites of the hard-boiled eggs cut 
in julienne strips, one cucumber and six radishes 
similarly cut, but very fine. This is a Russian 
soup, and very refreshing on hot days. 

Mock Turtle or Calf's Head Clear Soup 

Bone a calf's head, put it into cold water in a 
saucepan on the fire, boil up the liquid and let it 
continue boiling for half an hour, then drain, re- 
fresh and singe it. Butter the bottom of a sauce- 
pan, cover it with slices of ham, a carrot and some 
onions, a bunch of parsley, garnished with sage, 
chives, thyme and bay leaf. Split the bones taken 
from the head, lay them on this bed of vegetables 
and add two pounds of knuckle of veal, and a 
pound and a half of chicken, or else some chicken 
thighs, either of these being partially roasted; 
moisten with a quart of water, and let boil on a 
moderate fire until the liquid is reduced and fallen 
to a glaze, and the vegetables slightly colored. 
Moisten again with six quarts of either broth or 
water; add the blanched calf's head and boil with 
the liquid again, then skim and throw in one onion 
with a clove in it, a little mace and a quarter of 



m MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

a pound of mushroom trimmings; continue to boil 
slowly and when the head is cooked, remove it from 
the stock; cover it over with broth and leave it till 
cold. Now cut away the white skin near the snout, 
divide the meat into equal sized half-inch square 
pieces, taking only the cutaneous parts. Remove 
the chicken when done, season the stock, skim off 
the fat and strain it, through a sieve, clarify it Avith 
two pounds of chopped beef and one whole egg, 
proceeding the same as for a consomme. Strain 
the liquid through a napkin, or a silk sieve, and 
thicken it with a spoonful of fecula for each quart, 
diluting the fecula with half a gill of sherry and 
a little water, and then pouring it into the soup, 
stirring it vigorously until all is well mixed; then 
return it to the fire and stir again until it boils. 
Pound the meat from the chicken free of all fat, 
bones and skin; add to them when well pounded, 
four hard-boiled egg yolks, salt, nutmeg, and four 
raw egg yolks, rubbing all through a sieve, mix in 
some chopped parsley and with this preparation 
make some small half-inch diameter quenelles; 
poach them in boiling and salted water, drain and 
put them into a saucepan with the piece of calf's 
head, moisten with the stock, boil and skim, then 
add half a gill of Madeira or extra sherry wine for 
each quart of soup; and the juice of half a lemon 
for each quart ; pour it into a soup tureen and serve 
very hot. 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 113 

Croute Au Pot 

The distinguishing characteristic of Croute au 
Pot is that there are crusts of bread which are 
moistened with fat from the soup and then are 
browned before the fire. Afterwards the crusts 
are simmered with the bouillon, for some moments, 
before the soup is served. The soup is a good beef 
broth with some cabbage and vegetables which are 
cut into small pieces and served with the broth. 

Home Made Soup 

Soak one cup of white beans and one cup of len- 
tils in water for a few hours. Put a saucepan on 
the fire, filled with two quarts of cold water. Add 
the beans, lentils, salt and pepper and boil until 
tender. Wash one handful of sorrel, place a lump 
of butter in a stew pan, and when melted, throw 
in the sorrel. Slice one carrot and one potato, 
wash one teaspoon of tapioca to each guest and 
add with the carrot and potato to the beans and 
lentils. When sufficiently cooked, add the sorrel 
that has been simmering in butter in the stew pan. 
Pass the contents of the saucepan through a 
colander to make a puree, taking care to have a 
receptacle beneath it. Pour everything back into 
the saucepan, boil again, adding salt and pepper 
to taste, and serve. 



114 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 



Petite Marmite 

2 Pounds short ribs of beef cut in two inch squares, 

6 Small pieces, ox-tail, 

1 Two pound fowl, 

1 Gallon of beef broth, 
'Y2 Pound carrots cut in small sticks, 
^ Pound turnips, cut in small sticks, 
% Pound leeks, cut in small sticks, 
A heart of celery, 

1 Onion stuck with 2 cloves and a little garlic. 

Put in a one-gallon pot (called "Marmite") the 
meat, fowl and ox-tail, cover with the beef broth 
and put on the fire and let it come to a boil. Skim 
off the surface and add the vegetables. 

Let it cook for 3 hours and serve with toasted 
sliced rolls. 

Proportions serve ten people. 



FISH 

Fish a la Rothschild 

Cut two pounds of trout and two pounds of red 
fish in two-inch slices; remove the skin from one 
side of the slices and cover with a paste made of 
two finely chopped onions, salt, pepper, fine 
cracker crumbs and one egg, and then put back 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 115 

the skin. Boil with salt, pepper, an onion stuck 
with two or three cloves, a carrot and two sprigs 
of parsley cut fine and a pinch of allspice, and, 
when cold, serve after adding a tablespoon of rich 
cream. 

It should take about two hours to cook. 

Fresh Prawn Cocktail 

Boil one and one-half pounds of prawns in salted 
boiling water for five minutes the night before. 
Drain, shell and place them when cooled off in a 
refrigerator or cool place. 

Prepare following sauce: — 2 shallots minced 
very fine and mixed with equal parts of chow chow 
minced very fine, chili sauce, mayonnaise sauce and 
cream. Season to taste and serve this sauce with 
the prawns in cocktail glasses. 

Shad Roe McAlpin 

Take a good sized shad roe, season with salt and 
pepper and broil on a slow fire for 15 minutes; 
turn from one side to the other to prevent it from 
burning. 

When done split it in two and fill the inside with 
scrambled eggs flavored with some anchovy butter. 

Serve with some fillets of anchovies on top of 
the eggs and garnish with broiled sliced tomatoes. 



116 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Sea Food Supreme (for 4 Persons) 

6 Fresh prawns, 

8 Scallops, 

6 Oysters, 

6 Clams (hard), 

^ Cup lobster meat, 

y2 Cup crab meat, 

% Cup old white wine, 

y2 Cup double cream, 

2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup, 

2 Tablespoons mashed sweet pepper (passed through a 
sieve), 

4 Finely chopped shallots, 

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, 

1 Tablespoon old Brandy, 

iy2 Ounces sweet butter. 

Put the scallops, oysters, clams and the white 
wine together in a saucepan. Leave them on the 
fire just long enough to be poached. Put the crab 
and lobster meat in a buttered saucepan. Keep 
them five minutes over a hot fire, then pour the 
brandy over and singe. (Keep everything hot 
while you prepare the sauce.) 

Put a half ounce of butter in a saucepan with 
the chopped shallots and let brown slightly. Add 
the tomato ketchup, half a spoon of tarragon and 
the mashed sweet peppers. Drain the pan with 
the clams, oysters, etc., and add its juice to the 
sauce. Let reduce for 10 or 15 minutes, according 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 117 

to the strength of the fire. Keep stirring, to pre- 
vent burning, then add the cream and let boil for 
2 minutes. 

Now finish the sauce in a chafing dish (as it 
must not boil any longer) by adding the rest of 
the butter, little by little. Stir well, season to taste 
with salt, pepper and cayenne. Pour all the fish 
into the sauce and sprinkle the top with the 
chopped tarragon. Serve in terrapin plates with 
crackers. 

Crab Flakes Exquisite 

This is a Franco- American dish. Requirements 
— Catsup, Chili sauce, two finely minced shallots, 
tarragon, chervil, two spoons puree of red pepper, 
one-half pound of butter, four egg yolks, cream, 
whole white pepper and cayenne. 

Put the shallots in a pan, together with some 
good vinegar, crushed white pepper, the stems of 
the tarragon and a little chervil; place on the fire 
till the vinegar evaporates; then add the catsup, 
chili sauce and red pepper puree. 

Allow to cook until reduced to half of the 
original volume, and add cayenne. Mix yolks with 
cream, add to sauce but do not boil it. 

Finish j^our sauce with good butter and strain. 

Heat crab flakes in the blazer of a chafing dish 
with hot water under and when hot, pour sauce 
over and serve from the chafing dish. 



118 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 



SALADS 

Knob of Celery Salad 

Take some boiled celery knobs, cut into slices, 
and dress with the following: 

1 Teaspoon salt, 

1/2 Teaspoon pepper, 

1 Tablespoon French mustard, 

2 Tablespoons vinegar, 
4 Tablespoons oil. 

Watercress and Pear Salad 

Have very clean and green watercress. Season 
it only when ready to serve, with a very little oil, 
salt, pepper and vinegar and add a pear cut into 
slices. Pepper watercresses are prepared the 
same. 

May be served with Roquefort Cheese dressing. 

SAUCES 

Remoulade Sauce 

Chop up well one blanched shallot, add a hand- 
ful of parsley leaves, chervil, tarragon and burnet. 
Pound the whole in small marble mortar. Add 
four nicely cleaned anchovy fillets and five or six 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 119 

hard boiled egg-yolks. Rub all the ingredients 
through a sieve, then mix in three or four raw 
yolks. Stir into this preparation one pint of oil, 
half a gill of vinegar and mustard, the same as for 
mayonnaise and finish the sauce with capers, finely 
chopped pickled gherkins and a dash of cayenne 
pepper. 

Lemon Dressing 

1 Lemon; juice only, 
J4 Teaspoon salt, 

A pinch of pepper, 

3 Tablespoons olive oil, 
^ Tablespoon chives, 
^ Tablespoon chervil. 

Strain lemon juice and mix with salt and pepper. 
Then add little by little the oil, using if possible 
a beater. 

Mince the chervil and chives very finely and add 
at the last minute. 

Salad Dressing, Bourgeoise 

One-half soupspoon of French tarragon mus- 
tard, one tablespoon of vinegar, one of mayonnaise, 
three of olive oil, one-half tablespoon of chili sauce, 
one teaspoon of salt, one-half tablespoon of Wor- 
cestershire sauce, dash of pepper, one-half table- 
spoon of minced chervil and chives mixed. Mix 
together the mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, 
mayonnaise, chili and Worcestershire sauce, and 



120 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

chill in a bowl of ice. Add, little by little, the oil, 
chervil and chives, using a wire whip; and when 
it is thoroughly mixed, put in a bowl and chill in 
the ice-box until wanted. 

Russian Dressing 

^ Teaspoon salt, 

2 Dashes pepper, 

1 Dash cayenne, 

2 Dashes paprika, 
2 Egg-yolks, 

4 Soupspoons olive oil, 
1/2 Sweet pepper very finely chopped, 

1 Teaspoon chili sauce, 
% Teaspoon powdered sugar. 
Vinegar. 

Whip the two yolks of egg, adding the oil grad- 
ually. When the sauce starts to thicken add 
vinegar to taste, spices, chili sauce and the sweet 
pepper. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a 
little more vinegar. 

French Dressing 

% Teaspoon salt, 

A pinch of fresh ground pepper, 
1 Teaspoon French mustard, 

1 Soupspoon tarragon vinegar, 

2 Soupspoons olive oil. 

Mix in a bowl the salt, pepper, mustard and 
vinegar. Add little by little the olive oil. 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 121 

To get the best result, use small wire whip. 
Quantity gives sufficient dressing for one in- 
dividual portion. 



Sauce Mayonnaise 

In order to obtain a quick and certain mayon- 
naise sauce, it must be worked with a small wire 
whisk. 

Put five egg-yolks into a bowl, eliminating every 
particle of the white. Add 2% teaspoons salt, ^ 
teaspoon white or red pepper, and 2% teaspoons 
ground mustard. After these are thoroughly 
mixed, pour in a quart of oil and one gill of 
vinegar, alternating them without once stopping 
the beating. In a few minutes the sauce becomes 
voluminous, smooth and firm. 



Green Spanish Sauce 

Pound to a paste one ounce of chervil and one 
ounce of parsley. Add to it four ounces of bread 
crumbs soaked in water and then squeezed dry, 
six anchovy fillets, two ounces of chopped minced 
onion. Pound to a paste and then rub it through 
a sieve into a bowl. Beat it well with sweet oil, 
the same as for mayonnaise, adding salt, pepper 
and spinach green to color. Thin slightly with a 
little water. 



12^ MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Mint Sauce 

Put into a sauce boat half a cup of good vinegar, 
a tablespoon of powdered sugar, a little cayenne 
pepper and one-fourth cup finely chopped fresh 
mint leaves. Let them infuse for half an hour. 



POULTRY 

Gipsy Pot 

Cut two chickens each in four pieces, two pounds 
salt pork in large squares and parboil. Take two 
leeks and two stalks of celery, a dozen small onions, 
three chopped carrots, a young cabbage, three 
tomatoes skinned and freed from seeds, and some 
potatoes cut in quarters. Put all this in a pot; 
salt and pepper; add two bay leaves and a little 
thyme ; moisten with a quart of chicken broth ; close 
with a tight cover and let stew for one hour and 
serve. 

Chicken Croustade 

Clean, singe young tender fowl, then cut into 
eight small joints; put into a saute pan one ounce 
of butter and one ounce of lard; when hot, place 
in the pieces of fowl and fry quickly on both sides. 
Transfer the pieces into an oval fire-proof terrine, 
season with salt, pepper, and sprinkle over some 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES m_ 

chopped parsley. Add to them a hard-boiled egg, 
four big fresh mushrooms cut in small pieces; also 
three potatoes, sliced very fine and four slices of 
bacon, previously fried. Next pour over the fowl 
a soupspoonful of brown gravy. Roll out some 
puff paste to fit the top of the terrine and place 
into position. Brush over with beaten egg yolk 
and bake in a fairly hot oven for 35 minutes, by 
which time the fowl and the paste ought to be quite 
well cooked. 

Cold Fricassee Chicken 

Cut the breast in two slices from a spring 
chicken, about one and one-half pounds in weight, 
and cut each leg into two pieces. Place in the bot- 
tom of a saute pan one sliced onion, two bay leaves, 
a little thyme and some minced parsley. Lay the 
chicken on these and season with salt and pepper 
and a dash of paprika. Sprinkle over with a table- 
spoon of flour and add sufficient chicken stock to 
cover it and simmer for twenty minutes. When 
tender, remove the chicken and strain the gravy. 
Thicken with one tablespoon of gelatine after add- 
ing one-half cup of sweet cream. Then take each 
joint of chicken, baste well with the gravy and 
set in the ice box one hour to chill. Decorate each 
portion with tarragon, place in a deep mould, cover 
with a light layer of chicken jelly and leave it to 
set. Serve with any simple salad. 



m MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

Fricass6e of Chicken with Curry Madras 

One spring chicken, weighing 2 pounds. Cut 
the breast and each leg into two pieces. INIince 
very fine, 1 apple peeled, 3 white onions, 4 ounces 
boiled ham, one-half teaspoon thyme and bay 
leaves, 1 soupspoon grated cocoanut, 1 bouquet 
parsley, 2 soupspoons curry powder, one-half pint 
cream. 

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and 
place in a saute pan which has been well buttered. 
Allow to cook until slightly browned, then add the 
mince of apple, onions, ham, thyme, bay leaves and 
fry for five minutes. Take a cup of chicken broth, 
add to it the parsley. Now sprinkle the curry over 
the chicken and then pour over carefully the mix- 
ture of broth and parsley and cook for fifteen 
minutes. When cooked pick out the chicken and 
place in a chafing dish. Add the cream and cocoa- 
nut to the gravy and allow to reduce to half of 
its volume, then strain over the chicken and serve. 
Boiled rice is usually served on the same plate. 

Gosling Stewed with Turnips 

Cut up a small tender and well-cleaned gosling 
into medium-sized pieces, discarding the pinions, 
drumsticks and neck; cut also half a pound of 
lean bacon into half inch squares; fry them for a 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 125 

few moments in butter, and remove with the skim- 
mer, leaving the fat in the saucepan ; lay the pieces 
of goose into this fat, fry over a hot fire while 
stirring, season and add one onion and a bunch 
of parsley garnished with thyme and bay leaf. 

When the meats are browned, drain off the fat 
and dredge the goose with flour, moisten to its 
height with hot stock and boil up this liquid while 
stirring, letting it remain in this state for ten min- 
utes; by this time the sauce should be slightly 
thickened. 

Cover the saucepan with its lid and continue to 
cook moderately. 

Take raw turnips and cut them into balls three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter, place them in a 
pan with the strained fat from the goose, season with 
salt and a pinch of sugar and color them briskly; 
when half cooked lift out the pieces of goose, the 
bacon and the turnips; boil together for ten min- 
utes and finish cooking in a slow oven. The gosling 
and turnips should both be found done at the same 
time. Dress all in a deep dish with very little 
sauce. 

Roast Turkey with Chestnut Dressing 

Select a small turkey, not too fat but quite 
fleshy. Bone the entire front part, leaving the 
breast-skin as long as possible, also the thighs; 
diminish the thickness of the fillets and place these 



126 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

pieces where there is no meat, so as to equalize the 
thickness of the meat. 

Season the inside of the breasts, stuffed with 
following stuffing— 1 pound forcemeat; 4 baked 
onions minced; 2 sliced apples fried in butter, 4 
rolls, soaked in milk; 1 egg, 1 pound peeled chest- 
nuts, half cooked in chicken broth, with 2 spoons 
sugar and celery flavor; season with salt, allspice 
and pepper, and braise it for an hour and a quarter, 
to an hour and a half, on a very slow fire, and at 
the last moment glaze, drain off and undress the 
turkey. 

Surround it with a Chipolata garnishing, into 
which a good brown gravy with JMadeira wine has 
been added, reduced with the braise stock; pour a 
part of this sauce over the turkey and serve the 
remainder separately. 



Roast Duckling 

Bake a half dozen whole onions in the oven; 
when done peel and hash them very fine. Take 
eight apples, peel, cut into slices and allow to 
steam for five minutes. Place in a pan half pound 
of sausages, two bread rolls soaked in milk and 
squeezed dry, one egg, allspice and some black 
pepper. INIix these thoroughly, then add the ap- 
ples and onions. With this mixture stuff the 
duckling and roast in the usual way. 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 127 

MEATS 

Shoulder of Spring Lamb with Fresh Mushrooms 

This is an exquisite dish, very simple and easy 
to prepare. I am sure that many good home cooks 
will delight their husbands by presenting them 
with such a nicely flavored dish as they will find 
this to be. 

Requirements : 

One shoulder spring lamb, 
12 Large mushrooms, 

1 Tablespoon chives, chopped, 

2 Tablespoons shallots, chopped, 
1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped, 

4 Ounces sweet butter, 
8 Ounces bread crumbs. 
Salt and pepper to taste. 

Place a nice, well-seasoned shoulder of spring 
lamb in a good-sized roasting pan, arrange some 
fat on the top and put it in the oven. Take the 
mushrooms, cut off the stems and wash thoroughly. 
The chives, shallots, parsley, butter and bread 
crumbs to be mixed together. With this mixture 
stuff the mushrooms. By the time the lamb is 
nicely browned; surround with mushrooms and 
allow to bake until the mushrooms are cooked, tak- 
ing about ten minutes. 

Arrange the shoulder and mushrooms in an oval 



128 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

dish and add half a cup of gravy. The gravy is 
allowed to boil in the roasting pan for two or three 
minutes and is served with the lamb. 

Spring Lamb Cutlets with String Beans 

Pare the breast-bones from a rack of lamb, four 
inches long; cut off the neck to the third rib; saw 
off the spinal bone, without spoiling the fillet, as 
far as the rib; then cut from each rack five chops 
according to the thickness. Remove the meat from 
the end bones of each chop, cut an inch thick, and 
flatten the meat lightly. Remove the fibrous skin 
adhering to the kernel, season with salt and pepper. 
Roll them in good olive oil, broil over a brisk fire, 
turning them once during the operation. Dress 
and garnish with new string beans which are 
sauteed in butter. 

Veal Stew 
This veal stew, Jewish style, is not like anything 
you will be likely to find anywhere else, but the 
well-known indigestibility of this meat is much 
lessened by the sauce served with it. Stew the veal, 
preferably in a covered casserole, holding about 
three pounds, and when it is nearly done add half 
a cup of vinegar, half a cup of seeded raisins, a 
pinch of cloves, a pinch of cinnamon and a table- 
spoon of horseradish. Have ready some buttered 
bread crumbs to thicken the sauce and season 
finally with just enough salt and pepper to taste. 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 129 

Provencale Sausage 

Rump of lamb, bacon, onions, shallots, a soup- 
9on of garlic, coarsely chopped parsley, tomato, 
soft bread crumbs, salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme 
and bay leaf. 

Fry in olive oil one medium-sized chopped 
onion, four shallots and quarter-pound of bacon, 
chopped with a soup9on of garlic. Add the coarsely 
chopped parsley, and then four tomatoes, cut 
small; season with salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme 
and bay leaf, the latter two chopped very fine. 
Allow to reduce to half of its original volume and 
then withdraw from the fire. 

Saute the lamb, previously cut in small squares, 
over a quick fire, add some soft bread crumbs and 
one egg, according to judgment; allow them to 
cool and shape the sausages. 

Serve with a rice pilau, or with a puree of pota- 
toes accompanied by a good sauce. 

New England Boiled Dinner 
The quantity given in this recipe is sufficient 
for a family of six or eight persons. There should 
be sufficient left to make vegetable hash for an- 
other meal. 

Take a piece of corned beef of from two to four 
pounds in weight. If cold corned beef is desired, 
a larger piece of beef may be boiled. For the 
midday meal, the beef should be put on the range 



130 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

to boil as early as 7:30 a.m. At 8:30 put in the 
same pot four large beets that have been well 
washed and cut as little as possible in order that 
the juices may not escape. At 9:30 add one pound 
of fat salt pork, and half an hour later a large 
cabbage cut in quarters and carefully washed. At 
11 o'clock one large or two small yellow turnips, 
peeled and cut in slices an inch thick, are added 
with two medium-sized carrots, washed and 
scraped. Three-quarters of an hour before serving 
remove the corned beef and pork and add two 
good-sized parsnips, washed and scraped, and one 
dozen whole potatoes, also peeled. These should 
boil in the liquor with all the other vegetables, until 
potatoes and parsnips are done. Remove from the 
kettle, drain in a colander from all the liquor, and 
serve on a platter. The cabbage may be boiled in 
a bag or piece of cheesecloth, if desired, and served 
in a mound at one end of the platter. The corned 
beef and pork are neatly sliced and the slices of 
turnip cut in halves. The beets are sliced in pieces 
one-half inch thick and the carrots and parsnips 
sliced once lengthwise. The beets upon being re- 
moved from the kettle are plunged in a dish of 
cold water; and after a moment's immersion the 
skins may readily be slipped off. They are some- 
times served in a separate dish, with a little drawn 
butter poured over them. The cabbage may also 
be served separately after seasoning with butter, 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 131 

salt and pepper. The potatoes are arranged on 
the platter with the other vegetables. English 
mixed mustard and vinegar are usually the condi- 
ments used. 

Vegetable Hash 

Take all the vegetables left from a New Eng- 
land boiled dinner, and chop them in a chopping 
tray or run through the food-chopper, using the 
coarsest knife. Put a large lump of butter in a 
frying pan or iron kettle; add vegetables to this 
with a very little hot water, if it seems too dry, 
and stir often, seasoning with salt and pepper. 
This should not be browned or cooked too long, 
but cooked over a slow fire until thoroughly hot. 
Serve on a platter garnished with slices of the cold 
boiled pork and corned beef. 



GARNISHING 

Chipolata Garnishing 

This garnishing is composed of 18 small carrots 
whole, or else cut into balls and glazed; 18 small 
glazed onions; 18 cooked mushrooms; 18 fluted 
whole chestnuts, moistened with broth and cooked 
until they fall to a glaze; and small broiled Chipo- 
lata sausage. 

Set tLsse various materials into a sautoire and 



132 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

pour over when ready to serve some Espagnole 
sauce, reduced with Madeira wine. 

Add half a pound inch squares of salt pork fried 
in butter and cooked in consomme; arrange the 
garnishing in clusters for remove or mingled for 
entrees. 

DESSERTS 

Omelette Souffle Vanille 

Place six egg-yolks in a bowl with three ounces 
of powdered sugar and an ounce of vanilla sugar. 
Beat well with a whip until it becomes very light. 
Also beat up twelve whites to a stiff froth and 
mix them in lightly with the yolks. Then dress 
on a long dish and split lengthways through the 
center with the blade of a knife, so as to make 
two pieces of it. Decorate the surface of the 
omelette prettily, sugar it over and bake in a hot 
oven for eight or ten minutes, serving it as soon 
as it is done. 

Croquettes of Chestnuts 

Select four pounds of fine, sound chestnuts; slit 
them on one side and put them to roast in a large 
perforated pan; cover and toss frequently until 
done. They may also be cooked by placing them 
on a baking sheet and then in a hot oven to roast 
without blackening. Remove shells and brown 



A POTPOURRI OF RECIPES 133 

skins, and reserving twenty of the finest chestnuts, 
pound the others to a fine paste. Add, while con- 
tinuing to pound, two ounces of vanilla sugar and 
a little thick cream. Press this preparation 
through a sieve and put it into a saucepan beating 
into it six egg-yolks, then dry over the fire while 
stirring. Pour this on a baking sheet and leave 
till cold, then shape it into balls an inch and a 
quarter in diameter. In the center of each insert 
one of the roasted chestnuts split in two; mold the 
croquettes to the shape of a chestnut, dip them in 
beaten eggs, roll in white bread-crumbs and fry 
in very hot clear frying fat; when done, drain and 
sponge, sprinkle with vanilla sugar and dress on 
a napkin. 

Strawberry Charlotte 

Cut a few large lady-fingers into a long triangle 
so as to be able to place them in the shape of a 
marguerite in the bottom of a charlotte mold, 
pressing them down on their glazed side. Then 
cut off the ends and sides of a few of the same 
biscuits so as to stand them upright against the 
sides of the mold, pressing them close to each 
other; incrust the mold in ice. Strain through a 
sieve about two pounds of ripe, good-flavored 
strawberries; sweeten them with some thick 
Curacao-flavored sirup mixed with two tablespoons 
of granulated gelatine dissolved over boiling water, 



134 MEATS, POULTRY AND GAME 

stir the preparation on ice, and as soon as it 
thickens slightly incorporate slowly the volume of 
a pint of well-drained whipped cream. Fill up the 
mold and let harden for one hour on ice or in a 
very cold ice-box. At the last moment invert the 
charlotte on a napkin and serve with some straw- 
berry sirup. 

ROASTING TIME TABLE 

Large Turkey, 10 lbs 1% hours 

Small Turkey, 6 lbs 1 hour 

Capon, 4 lbs 50 minutes 

Fowl, 3 lbs 35 minutes 

Wild Duck 18 to 20 minutes 

Duckling 45 minutes 

Goose, 6 lbs. 1 hour 

Young Hare ^ hour 

Full grown Hare 40 minutes to 1 hour 

Partridge 20 minutes 

Woodscock 15 minutes 

Squab 20 minutes 

Snipe or Plover 10 minutes 

Pork and Veal 20 minutes per pound 

Beef — Mutton — Lamb. — The calculation for these meats 
is 15 minutes per pound. 

Attention is called to the suggestion given on 
page 71, ''How Long to Cook a Roast." 

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